New Zealand Tourism News

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel has signed a management agreement with NDG Asia Pacific to open the first Ritz-Carlton property in New Zealand in 2019, creating a new iconic property that will enhance the famous skyline of New Zealand’s leading waterfront city, Auckland. Located in the downtown heart of the city amid the well-preserved city landmarks, adjacent to the distinctive Sky City, The Ritz-Carlton, Auckland will offer uninterrupted 360 degree views of Auckland’s twin harbours with easy access to nearby vineyards on Waiheke Island beyond by helicopter, as well as allowing guests to hands-on experience the thrills of the America’s Cup on an original racing yacht.

Emirates has introduced its flagship A380 double-decker aircraft on two New Zealand routes. The airline’s step-up in capacity on both its Christchurch service and its non-stop Dubai-Auckland flight means that Emirates now has an all-A380 offering across its five daily New Zealand services. Flight EK448 set off from Dubai on its 16-hour journey to Auckland, signalling the start of daily scheduled A380 services on the non-stop route previously operated by Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, while an Emirates A380 took off en-route to Christchurch as the airline upgraded the route to New Zealand’s main South Island gateway from a Boeing 777-300ER operation.

Singapore Airlines has launched its new ‘Capital Express’ service, linking Singapore for the first time with the capital cities of both Australia and New Zealand. The inaugural flight, SQ291, departed Singapore Changi Airport at 23:00 last night and arrived at Canberra Airport at 08:15 local time this morning.

Emirates A380s will fly between Dubai and New Zealand five times daily from October 30th with the introduction of the airline’s double-decker flagship aircraft on Christchurch services. Emirates will be the first airline to offer regular scheduled A380 services to and from Christchurch with the upgrade of the current daily Christchurch service from Boeing 777-300ERs, along with the removal of the en-route stop in Bangkok which will enable passengers to travel all the way between Christchurch and Dubai, with just one stop in Sydney.

Filmmaker James Cameron is sharing his love of New Zealand, fronting a new video that gives the world a glimpse of what it is about the country that captivates him like nowhere else. In collaboration with Tourism New Zealand, Cameron and his wife Suzy Amis Cameron spent four days filming, taking in the natural wonders of the South Island.

American Airlines customers can now customers enjoy a new service to Auckland, when the world’s largest airline introduces its daily service from Los Angeles International Airport. For passengers travelling from, or connecting via London Heathrow Airport, the new route offers a gateway from London to New Zealand, building on American’s growing trans-pacific network.

Tourism New Zealand has appointed Rachel Sprackett to the role of PR manager UK and Europe. Sprackett has nine years of public relations experience behind her and previously held the role of press officer UK and Europe at Tourism New Zealand. A graduate from the university of Manchester, Sprackett was a publicist at Rough Guides and DK Travel for five years before making her move over to Tourism New Zealand.

Value and volume in the tourism sector continues to rise with new data sets showing yet more international visitors to New Zealand came this April than last and each of those visitors is spending more while there. Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said the results are evidence that the organisation is making a real difference for the industry, as it focuses its efforts on increasing value.

Hong Kong Airlines will launch its first daily direct service to Auckland, New Zealand on November 10th, 2016. An Airbus A332 aircraft with 283 seats, including 24 in business class, will be deployed on the route. Located in the North Island of New Zealand, Auckland is surrounded by two different harbours on the east and west side of the city.

Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand have announced a marketing partnership worth more than $20 million over the coming financial year to promote New Zealand to new and existing international markets and collaboratively grow the value on in-bound tourism. The two organisations have signed a new memorandum of understanding investing more than $10 million each over 12 months in cooperative marketing activity in the key markets of Australia, China, North and South America, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Emirates has launched its first non-stop service between Dubai and Auckland, one of the world’s longest scheduled flights, bringing 39 European destinations and another 38 in Africa and the Middle East within just one stop of New Zealand. And to celebrate the milestone, the first service was operated with a double-decker A380 rather than the Boeing 777-200LR that will regularly fly the route.

Emirates will start its first non-stop service from Dubai to Auckland on March 1st, bringing many of its 38 European destinations and cities within just one-stop range of New Zealand through direct connections in Dubai. The new service will be in addition to the award-winning airline’s existing flights, meaning that Emirates will then have five services daily into New Zealand – three A380 double-decker services to Auckland via Australia, a daily Christchurch service with a Boeing 777-300ER, and the new non-stop service operated with a Boeing 777-200LR.